


Vows

by swan_songs



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Can't Chill, Established Relationship, For the p5 wedding zine, M/M, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 01:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21028211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swan_songs/pseuds/swan_songs
Summary: The day of the ceremony keeps getting closer and closer, and Goro isn't sure if it's a curse or a blessing.





	Vows

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my piece for the wonderful P5 Wedding Zine I've had an incredible honor to participate in!

If there's one thing Goro Akechi has learned from his various adolescent endeavors, it's that life has an unfortunate tendency to come at you fast, hard and when you least expect it. Like a house of cards facing a hurricane, even the most meticulously laid-out plans stand little to no chance against its force, meeting their untimely demise in an almost comical fashion. And if that wasn’t enough, it's always the most important events of Goro’s life, things months or even years in the making, that are especially prone to be affected by such circumstances. Quite unfortunately, his own wedding falls right into that category.

There’re barely a couple of weeks left until the ceremony and yet, Goro has never felt this unprepared for anything else in his life. There literally isn’t a moment when something doesn’t need to be attended to and new tasks keep popping up, only adding to the ever growing pile. He thought his life was busy, back then, and this was... not worse, just, different. Very different. Still, the way his already queasy stomach churns is unpleasantly familiar.

So is trying to find something to distract himself with in the middle of the night, because nothing seems to be bringing comfort when you’re the only one awake and your own thoughts chase you out of the bed. Some things don’t change.

The constant, nagging feeling at the back of his head ushers Goro into the walk-in closet attached to the bedroom, as though the small, organised space holds the secret to getting himself together. Holds the secret to what was missing. He has to figure it out soon. Even if he’s being paranoid, which of course is nothing out of the ordinary when one’s dealing with something as involved their own wedding, at least from what he’s read online, some worry is warranted. But it doesn’t matter much when the date’s approaching too quickly and too slowly at the same time and everything starts to feel less and less real, leaving him weirdly off-center and often unable focus. Or too focused, on some days, which is honestly just as bad.

Goro’s eyes stray to the row of clothes hanging high on the wall, where the one task he managed to complete hides among coats and such. Well, six tasks if he’s having a good day, but still — a single assignment. It brings a rueful smile when he thinks how much ahead his ever-unperturbed-by-anything fiancé is, who almost every day works on a new idea to make the day more special, on top of having compiled the preliminary list of guests and started sending out formal invitations.

And Goro? He’s standing in the closet, at 3 a.m. in his pyjamas, staring at their suits that arrived just yesterday. Only so late because he couldn’t stop making last-minute adjustments to the three sets of outfits for each of them, needing them to be absolutely perfect. Akira left that task to him and he wouldn't disappoint. The thing is, it’s the only task he managed to complete so far.

And there was still so much to take care of — how many guests did Akira actually invite (since the number seems to be changing daily), how many of them will attend both the ceremony and the banquet or just one of those, do they need transport and accomodation, will Akira’s parents actually be present at the cere- 

Something fuzzy and warm brushes against Akechi’s shin, but the realization it’s just Morgana comes after he almost jumps out of his skin with a yelp. He’s thankful that the amount of clothes and various other things filling closet mutes the noise, otherwise soon it wouldn’t be just Morgana checking up on him in the dead of the night. Their self-proclaimed chaperone, now staring at Goro with wide, startled eyes and back arched in that distinctly catlike way he’d vehemently deny it ever was, must have been awoken by the light streaming into the sleeping room.

“Goro?” He tries to pay no mind to the small flip his stomach does at the sound of his given name; while far from unwelcome, hearing it still is something he isn’t quite used to. A small smile blooms on his face nonetheless. After all, aside from Akira, Morgana was the first one to call him that, reasoning that ‘Akechi’ soon won’t apply to just one person and he needs to get used to that. The both of them being called Akechi is a completely different thing to get used to — a completely surreal, terrifying and in Goro’s opinion an ‘absolutely too good to be true’ thing.

He's not being adopted, taken in like a stray. He's forming something new, something good, something for the both of them. Equal.

“Is Akira asleep?” Goro croaks out, scooping Morgana into his arms when his heart dislodges from his throat enough to let him speak.

Something bumps against Goro's back when he straightens up, something that shouldn't be there, and yet again, he only barely doesn't yelp in fright.

Unbothered by the noise, a warm and solid frame drapes itself over Goro's shoulders and a mop of tousled black curls appears in the corner of his eye. A familiar hand winding around Goro's waist brings just as much relief as the deep breath he takes. 

“I am, and you should be as well.” It's impossible not to chuckle at Akira's sleepy grumble and Goro relaxes in his hold. He feels a hand sneaking into his own, the one where he realizes he's been gripping the ring adorning it to the point of pain.

Stunned into silence, he watches Akira lift it to his eyes, inspecting the marks the band has left on his thumb and middle finger. Whatever Goro wanted to say dies on his lips when Akira intertwines their digits and plants a kiss on top of his palm.

The movement makes the small gem set in the ring gleam in the low light, translucent yet containing all colors of the rainbow and just as many memories from the day Goro will never forget. It glints up at him cheerfully, its natural beauty unbothered by the late hour or bad life choices. Goro's almost envious of it; his own attempt to imitate this effortless perfection has almost worked him into an early grave, after all. He pushes that thought away and resigns to staring at his only proof that any of this is real. His treasure.

"Let's go back to bed, honey. You'll get wrinkles at this rate." A warm breath fans across Goro’s nape.

"I'd argue you're the one in need of beauty sleep, actually." He barely keeps his voice from shaking.

"Ooh, since when are you the trophy husband?"

The smile immediately falls from Goro’s face. A while ago, Akira made a joking remark about how their relationship was the best thing he could do to spite his parents. It was dumb, it was thoughtless and Goro got profusely apologized to, but his heart squeezes in the same horrible way it did back then.

It’s exactly why they've split responsibilities. A week is enough for everything to go to shit: Goro has experienced it first-hand, and each night his dreams are filled with scenarios where the tiniest thing goes wrong and Akira decides enough is enough. Solution to prevent it from becoming reality: avoid Akira. It was hard and lonely, made him even more snarky and snappy, causing a few outbursts that led him to bottling everything up. Again. And it made him terrified of all his bad habits returning when he’s supposed to be on top of his game.

"I'm... aware I'm getting the better side of this deal, no need to remind me."

Akira jerks up like he was struck. "What? No, no, Goro... it's not like that and you know it. Look." Goro allows himself be turned around to face a very serious looking Akira, the tiny hope in his chest unsure if it should bloom or wither. He squeezes their joined hands. “I will not leave you, Goro. I swear there will always be a place for you at my side. There’s nothing I want more than to spend our days together until the end. You just being here with me makes me the happiest man in the world and I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy as well. I promise.” 

Goro can barely comprehend what’s happening as Akira speaks with complete conviction, slowly and deliberately, staring right into Goro’s eyes. When Goro just continues to gape at him wordlessly, still processing Akira’s words, the younger man can’t help but duck his head, the well of Joker’s confidence he tapped into drying out as tears well in Goro’s eyes.

A vow, true and heartfelt, and Goro can’t imagine the one they are supposed to share during the ceremony will come even remotely close to the one Akira just came up with on the spot.

He wouldn’t object to get married right there and then, in the closet in their pyjamas, sleep-deprived and disheveled with just Morgana as their witness. There’s no more doubt in his heart, just love, so warm and overflowing Goro’s chest feels too tight. His fiancé often told him he falls in love with Goro over and over again, deeper each time with every moment they spend together. It used to confuse him to no end, but now he understands what Akira meant by that.

He takes Akira’s head into his hands and cups his cheeks when their eyes meet again. Neither of them dares to even breathe. “I will do everything I can to never again betray that faith you have in me.” He would not do Akira the disservice of putting himself down by indirectly questioning his feelings. “The thief’s heart that was willingly given to me...I’ll do it justice. Now and for the rest of my life.”

They don’t get to even lean in for a kiss, before Morgana reminds them of his presence, popping his head in between theirs. “Can we go back to sleep if you two are done?!”

Laughter fills the air for a good few minutes, and both of them feel a lot lighter. “Alright, alright, let us finish. No more splitting responsibilities, no more doing things separately. It was literally the worst idea we’ve ever had,” Akira giggles out, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.

“I couldn’t agree more, but do try not to slow us down. I barely got anything done as it is.”

“Are you kidding me? You designed all the outfits for each of us, picked the venue, the theme and all that. I’d never be able to do that. Joker was the pinnacle of my sense of style. All I’ve done is write some emails and make some calls. Anyone can do that.”

“You did that by yourself. I needed Yusuke, Ann and Haru to provide feedback...And funding.”

“Let’s agree to disagree. So, can I see the suits now?”

Goro rolls his eyes. “You’re not supposed to see them until the ceremony.”

“That’s not fair. You’ve seen both of them; let me at least see mine? Or did you make mine purposefully uglier because you’re jealous of my looks?”

“If you don’t stop I’ll sneak Morgana on the plane for our honeymoon.”

“You drive a hard bargain, honey. Don’t be embarrassed.”

“Of you? Might be too late for that.”

A loud rumble interrupts their bickering. It’s not Morgana’s purring since he’s apparently slipped away unnoticed, but rather Goro’s empty stomach. He self-consciously crosses his arms over it.

“Actually, what I have to work harder on is destressing you, huh? I was wondering why there’s still a bunch of leftovers in the fridge.”

“It’s four in the morning.”

“We’re adults Goro. Let’s go grab a snack like the responsible members of society we are.” 

Well, Goro missed Akira way too much to say no to that.


End file.
